Freedom?
by TubaPrincess
Summary: Max hears about one of her sibs and when she goes to find them she finds trouble. A little bit of everything, action, romance, friendship...please r&r! (CHAPTER 4 ADDED!!)
1. Arizona

Freedom?  
  
Part 1  
  
'Why does she have to do that? The way she moves is intoxicating and she probably hasn't the slightest idea what it does to me. Another thing, what is with all the tight clothes? I mean, she would look great even if she didn't wear such form-fitting clothing all the time. That totally screws with my head. We just have a business relationship, right? Then how come everything she does have to intrigue me? Forget about the kiss in the car at my cabin. Wait a sec, why forget about it? That was the closest thing to heaven I have gotten here on this wretched planet. Nothing with Val even gave me a feeling close to what I felt in those few seconds with Max. Enough of that, as much as I would enjoy continuing to think along those lines, she will be here soon and I made her dinner. It's one of those rare moments, which are becoming not so rare, that we get to spend time together in a not-so-businesslike manner. So if I kept thinking like that, I don't think I would be able to eat very much.'  
--  
"Sorry Original Cindy, I gotta blaze," Max said impatiently. "I know I promised to be at Crash tonight, but I got somewhere else I gotta be."  
"Don't tell me, you're gonna go hang with your squeeze, aren't you?"  
"It's possible, and he ain't my 'squeeze.'"   
"Whatever, Boo."  
"See ya."  
She sped off toward Logan's on her black Ninja motorcycle. 'So what if I'm starting to like him. It's not like anything would ever come of it. I hardly think he likes me in that way. At least, I thought that up until about a week ago. It's kinda weird how things you don't think about that much are the things that need the most thought.   
Logan's been able to walk a little more each day. That gets me a bit scared because I like how things have been. He hasn't been able to stop me from going places by getting up and following me, but now, he will be able to. I hate those pleading eyes he gives me when I'm about to do something that has a significant amount of risk involved.   
Fear expresses weakness. Being afraid of something is bad. This kind of fear is different somehow, though. It's more of a longing for something but if I receive it I will not be as content as I am. That doesn't even make sense to me. I don't even know what I am longing for. Maybe I do know, actually, I don't want to think about that at this moment in time. I'll just have to hop that there is no brown out while I'm there. That might lead me somewhere I am not prepared to handle right now.'   
With that final though she arrived at Logan's penthouse. Just my luck, she thought, he's walking towards me.  
"You came," Logan said with a smile.   
"Of course I came, don't I always?" She smiled back.  
"Well I wasn't sure about tonight since it meant missing Crash."  
"I figured, it's just once I'd be missing it, they shouldn't get too mad at me for ditching them for you."  
'I like the sound of that, he thought happily to himself, I didn't think she would do anything like that for me.'   
All of the sudden the lights flickered and went out.   
'Not a brown out!' She thought in dismay, 'now I'm stuck here.'  
"Guess this means we are eating by candlelight," Logan gleamed.  
"I guess so," Max mumbled, trying not to sound disappointed. 'Nothing like a romantic dinner by candlelight to get my thoughts in the right frame of mind,' she thought sarcastically.  
He led her over to the table.  
'Okay, something's messed. I haven't seen his chair yet. Don't tell me he's walking permanently now. I'm in big trouble!'  
They sat across from each other and ate their pasta tricolore.   
'Why does he have to look at me like that? He's probably doing that on purpose. He wants something. I knew he would turn out just like Darren. Whoa, girl, what are you thinking? He's not like Darren at all and you know it!'  
'What am I doing to make her so edgy? She looks great tonight. She looks great every night. What would make tonight so much more special? Maybe it's because tonight, I don't need my chair.'  
"Oh no," Max cried.  
"What, oh no what, Max?"  
She started seizing. She got up and attempted to make her way over to his couch. Logan followed closely behind her. He helped her over to the floor by the sofa.   
"Are they bad like last time?" He asked her gently.  
"Yeah, but I can deal," she said popping a few pills into her mouth. She closed her eyes. The pained expression that showed on her face when she started up again was too much for Logan. He knelt down beside her and held her. She calmed down.  
"Why do you care so much, Logan?" Max asked.   
Logan thought about that a bit. Why did he care? Did he even know? Maybe tit is because she can drop everything that she is doing to meet him. Maybe it is because she is the best looking girl he has ever laid eyes on.   
"I care because you are my friend and I don't like to see you hurt," Logan replied. "Would you stay here tonight? I don't want you wandering the streets this late during a brown out. Especially because of your seizures."  
"I could do that," she said, "Please don't leave. I would feel better if you stayed next to me." She started seizing again.   
He pulled her closer. 'Let me feel your pain. It's not fair for you to go through this by yourself.' "I won't ever leave you, Max," he promised.  
--  
"Well look who finally decided to grace us with her presence!" Normal said sounding a bit irritated. "Would you care to give me an explanation as to why you are late, AGAIN?! Or would you like me to believe everything your pal here has been saying?"  
"I was sick and overslept. I wasn't sure if I would be able to come. I did show up as you can see. You should be proud of me for being the model employee."  
"Well I'm not. Next time you are sick I need a note from your doctor. Now get out of my sight! If you are late again, you're fired!"  
Max walked up to her locker and a very interested Original Cindy.   
"Where were you last night? Don't tell me, you spent the night over at your sweetie's house. Kendra called me late cause she was worried. She said you never showed up last night. That's not like you girl!"  
"I had had to stay over at Logan's last night because of the brown out. And once again, he ain't my sweetie. Sorry I didn't call." Max replied groggily. "I need someone to come with me on my runs today, I'm not feeling like myself. You up for it?"  
"Sure thing, Boo. Let's see if Normal's got anything for us other than bickering."  
--  
After work Max headed home to see Kendra.  
"Where were you last night?" Kendra demanded. "I was getting worried."  
"I went over to Logan's and then there was a brown out. I wasn't exactly up for finding my way back when there were no lights on in the city. Sorry, I forgot to call."  
"Did you have fun last night?" Kendra asked flashing a grin. "Spending all night with your sweetie, you had to do something."  
"Come on Kendra. I told you before we do not have that kind of relationship. And why does everyone keep referring to Logan as my 'sweetie'? You could use his name cause he's not!"   
Suddenly Max's pager goes off. She doesn't even need to look to see who it is.   
"Saved by the bell, huh? Just be sure to call if you are not coming back tonight, okay?"  
"See ya," Max nods with a smile and leaves. 'Why does everyone keep saying Logan's my sweetie? I mean he's sweet, but he's not mine. Besides, we don't have that kind of relationship. I'm scared to have that kind of relationship with Logan. I'm afraid it would ruin our friendship and I don't feel like losing one of my best friends. He's the only one that can practically read my thoughts. I don't know if I should be glad about that or not. His being out of the wheelchair is so hard for me now. I know it's better for him, but that will make things between us complicated for sure. I was saved last night by my seizures, but Logan is so nice and compassionate that he stayed by me the whole night. I can't think of anyone else who would have done that for someone like me. I mean, a lot of the time I don't treat anyone, including him that great. He must really like me, no girl. Remember you are NOT supposed to go there, we are JUST friends, right?'  
Max finished her ride over to Logan's with her thoughts still a jumbled mess. 'What could he possibly want me to come over for? Is it a pleasure friend to friend thing, or is it business? Did he find anything else out about my family?'  
"I found something I thought you would be interested in," Logan stated as he heard Max enter the room. "You told me to help you find your family in exchange for helping me, and, well, I have a lead. Someone called me and said they had seen someone with a barcode on the back of their neck somewhere in Arizona. I did some research and I think that they may be in Lake Havasu City."  
"My family," Max said softly. "Thank you. I hope you know how much this means to me. I've gone for the past ten years searching for them and I'm not even the one doing the finding."  
"Are you going to check it out?" Logan asked wearily. 'Of course she's going to check it out Cale! Don't ask such a stupid question next time.'  
"I should, I mean, we might have something here, I shouldn't just let this go." She wasn't quite sure of what she was talking about, Logan or the finding. She hoped he took it to mean the finding. She wasn't really up to the face-your-feelings-and-talk-about-them type of night.   
"Are you going to leave right away?"   
She inwardly suppressed a sigh of relief that he had taken her statement the right way. "No, I'll leave in the morning." She replied nonchalantly.   
"You surprised me, I thought you would be leaving as soon as possible, like, now," 'not that I want you to leave now. I don't really want you to go at all.' He added mentally.  
"I don't want Original Cindy to think I'm ditching her at Crash tonight," 'and I don't want to leave you right now,' she thought of adding, but she knew that if she did, she wouldn't be able to leave at all.   
Logan smiled and thought, 'I wonder if Original Cindy is the only reason she's not leaving tonight. If I trust my instincts, I would have to say not. You are so full of yourself Cale. But then, the look she just gave me sent me soaring. In fact, I don't think I have landed safely back on the ground yet.'   
"Since I promised Original Cindy I'd be at Crash tonight, I gotta jet." Then she added thoughtfully, "Would you care to join me?"  
"Why not? I'll try something new tonight. If I'm not imposing, that is," he said with a smile. 'Especially since it means spending time with you.'  
--  
The lights were dim and the club was loud and crowded, just like every other night as Max and Logan made their way over to the table she shared nightly with Original Cindy, Sketchy and Herbal.  
"Well lookie what we have here," Original Cindy said amusingly as Max walked up followed by Logan. OC got up and pulled Max aside leaving Logan stranded with the others.   
"I thought you told me he wasn't your squeeze!" OC said accusingly.   
"He's not. All I did was invite him to come with me. There isn't any harm in that, is there?"  
--  
"So you are the one Max has been spending all her time with!" Sketchy concluded. "So did you follow her and refuse to leave, or did she invite you? Actually, from what I've heard about you, she must have dragged you over with her."  
"What have you heard about me?" Logan asked quizzically.  
"She doesn't tell us anything about this 'mystery man.' All we do is suspect." Herbal answered.   
Logan smiled.  
--  
"Look sugar, all I can do is pretend to believe you. I know there is something going on between you two. I'll just get it out of Herbal or Sketchy if I have to."  
"They don't know anything."  
"You mean, you haven't told them anything. That doesn't mean that 'rich boy' over there hasn't squealed."  
Max turned toward their table. 'All he's doing is smiling, and looking at me. I hate it when he looks at me like that, actually, I like it a lot. I just wish he wouldn't do it so often. That look frightens me. I wonder if anything I do makes him feel like this. I doubt it.'  
"Max!" OC practically yelled.  
"Sorry," Max said stopping her thoughts. "Did you say something?"  
"Girl, why did you come here tonight if you are actually somewhere else?"  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Max said innocently.  
"You know exactly what I'm talkin' about. I can see the way you look at him." OC said impatiently with an all-knowing look on her face.   
"I'm leaving for Arizona tomorrow for a few days." Max said changing the subject.   
"Arizona! Does this have anything to do with your code?"  
Max nodded. The tone her friend had just used didn't' sound like someone who was too pleased to see her go. Even if it was just for a few days.   
"I gotta blaze."  
"Aiight. I better see you by the end of the week though." OC said giving her a quick hug.  
They walked over to their table and turning to Logan she said, "let's go."  
He got up, a bit confused, bid farewell and followed her out. They hopped on her motorcycle and sped off.   
"What was that about?" Logan asked as they walked into his pent house at Fogle Towers. "I though you wanted to stay longer than that."   
"Did you say anything to Herbal or Sketchy?"  
"I asked you first. About what?" He asked, even though he already knew she meant about their relationship.   
"I couldn't stay any longer. I told Original Cindy about my going to Arizona and decided it best if I left then. It wasn't at all anything she did. I don't know."  
"I didn't say anything of consequence to either of your pals. That doesn't mean, well, never mind."  
'Why am I thinking like this? We haven't even clarified what our relationship is yet to eachother. Why did I have to ask him if he spoke of it to Herbal or Sketchy?'  
Breaking in to her thoughts Logan said, "You were so curious about what I was talking with Herbal and Sketchy about, what was the topic of Cindy's and your conversation?"  
"Let's not go there." Max said smiling as she walked out the door.   
--  
At first light, Max jumped on her motorcycle with a small bag of personal belongings and headed South to Lake Havasu City.  
'What am I going to do if I find who I'm looking for and they are just like Zack? Then I'll go back to Logan, uh, Seattle. I'll go back to Seattle. Logan just happens to be in Seattle. I wouldn't go back just because of him, would I?'  
--  
Upon entering Arizona, Max waited in a line to pass into the state. Amazing how they still check to see if what you are carrying in to the state is legal or not. I don't think that they care all that much.   
All of the sudden there were five security guards on her.   
"Is this the girl sir?" One of them shouted.   
"Get off of me!" Max screamed as she struggled to get free. These guys were considerably stronger than she was used to. As hard as she tried, she couldn't break free.   
"That would be her," Lydecker confirmed as he emerged from his hiding place.  



	2. Logan to the Rescue

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, though I wouldn't mind owning a certain cyberjournalist. ;) The characters from the series all belong to Cameron, Eglee and whoever else works with them.  
  
A/N: I hope you like this. It took me a little longer to come up with this than I intended. The point of views are kind of messed up, if it's hard to follow, I'm sorry. I know there are those of you out there that do not like cliffhangers. I'm sorry about that as well. There will actually be another part added to this. I think I will leave it at a trilogy though. I don't do never-ending stories, though I did think that movie was pretty good... Probably nobody reads the notes anyway so I will stop blabbing and start writing. Enjoy. (I just liked the word, I hope by saying that I am in no way supporting Coca-Cola. Pepsi is better!!!)  
  
Freedom?  
  
Part 2  
  
"Hey Bling, did Max call while I was out?" Logan asked worriedly, walking through the door to his penthouse after his visit to the market.   
  
"Nope. You must really be worried. She left two days ago, man. Maybe she got caught up after meeting him and forgot to call. Just give her some time." A look of concern spread across his face for his friend.   
  
Logan sighed. 'Something must be wrong. She would have called. This doesn't seem right to me.'  
  
"I'm going after her, call it intuition but I sense something is very wrong."  
  
"No you're not," Bling countered. "You think I'm going to let you go down there and mess her up? What if she's just having a leisurely chat with whoever she met down there? Why can't you just accept that maybe she forgot to call?" But even though he said it, he didn't believe himself.  
  
"I'm going whether you want me to or not!"  
  
"I guess there's no stopping you then," Bling said in dismay.  
--  
  
Logan left in his gray Pontiac Aztec to search for Max. He hadn't been able to contact her at all. 'This isn't like her at all. She always returns my calls...except when she's really mad at me, but she wasn't when she left so I don't see why she would be now. What if something went really wrong, like she was captured? No, that couldn't have happened, she's too careful for that kind of thing. And she wouldn't start trusting whoever she met right off the bat, she didn't with me. If something bad happened to her, what would I be able to do to help? Maybe I should have taken Bling with me, or called Zack...wait a sec, guy, don't even think that name!! You know how much we despise eachother. If I get down there and realize she's in trouble then I'll call someone and have them come help me rescue her, if I can't do it on my own.'  
  
When he arrived at the check point a day and a half later to enter Arizona he got out his picture of Max.   
  
"Have you seen this woman?" He asked the policeman there.  
  
"She looks familiar," the man said obviously trying to pinpoint where he had seen her from. "I believe she said something about going to find someone she hadn't seen for a while. She said he lived up the road about 10 miles or so."  
  
"Thank you, sir," Logan replied, pasting on a smile.  
  
--  
  
"Sir he came after her. He will be there in about 10 minutes." The policeman said into his walkie-talkie.  
  
"We'll be ready for him," Lydecker replied.  
  
--  
  
'Why would Max give out information like that to someone she didn't even know? They didn't ask me where I was headed or what my purpose for being in this state was, but then, I guess I was a bit abrupt in asking about Max. She barely tells her friends where she is going, what would possess her to tell someone she had never before seen?'   
  
His thoughts were momentarily silenced as he pulled into a motel parking lot off the highway where he saw Max's motorcycle.   
  
'That's odd, I thought she would be out looking for her brother during the day.' He looked at his watch, 5:30. 'Maybe she has stopped for the day.'   
  
He stepped out of the car and closed the door. He stood a few moments enjoying the sun's warmth. 'So this is what the sun feels like.' He chuckled to himself as he walked into the motel.   
  
"Could you tell me which room this woman is staying in please?" He asked politely, producing Max's picture to the lady at the desk.  
  
The lady looked down at her papers, looked back up at him and replied, "Room 11."  
  
"Thanks," he said as he left the room and looked around for number 11.   
  
"Ah, there it is." He walked up to the door and knocked three times. The door opened and there stood a man who looked quite familiar. 'No way!!' His face suddenly went from warm smile to pure terror.  
  
"You must be Logan," the man said expectantly.   
  
A couple of men grabbed him and escorted him forcefully into the motel room.   
  
"This was all a set-up?" Logan asked accusingly. His question lay unanswered. He looked around the room. Nothing seemed out of place, but then, he had never been there before. Anything could be a sign.   
  
"Where is she? I know you have her!" Logan said angrily.  
  
--  
  
'Logan, Logan, I need you. Why did you let me come here? Would I have listened if you had told me not to come? I can hear you saying something in the distance. But I don't know where you are. I don't even know where I am. Why did you follow me? I know you would only come if you thought I was in trouble. Dod you bring help with you, or did you think you could save me on your own? Why do you care so much Logan? Didn't you know that it would someday get you caught?'  
  
--  
  
"How did you know my name? I'm not aware that we've formally introduced." I began.  
  
"We haven't, she mentioned your name while she was sleeping."  
  
"I knew you had her! Where is she? I thought she didn't sleep."  
  
"I would let you join her, but I don't think either of you would enjoy that at the moment. For the record, even my perfect little soldiers need their rest." He replied, the wickedness crossed his face before he returned to all seriousness.  
  
"You didn't," It was more of a plea than a statement. I'm sure he knew that I feared the worst.   
  
"Oh you can be sure that I did!" With that, Lydecker's men escorted Logan to the chair seated in the corner and knocked him out.   
  
--  
  
THE NEXT DAY  
  
Bling was doing a bit of cleaning up around Logan's penthouse when he heard a light knock on the door. He walked on over to receive the caller.   
  
"Do I know you?" Bling asked the man when he opened the door.  
  
"You might not, but Logan and Max do. I'm Zack. Have you seen Max around lately? I need to talk to her, it's urgent."  
  
"Sorry, Max left for Arizona about four days ago and when she didn't call, Logan left after her. That was a couple of days ago."  
  
"I knew I should have come here as soon as I got that information. How could I have been stupid enough not to? I knew he would tell her about that when he found it." Zack muttered walking into the living room.   
  
"Yo, man. Slow down a bit. You knew about this? Is something wrong?"  
  
"Lydecker set up a trap down in Arizona. He wanted to lure us down there to capture us. I've got an idea on how to get her out. I'll be back in an hour." He left a very confused and worried Bling as he set off on his mission.   
  
--  
  
As the former employee walked into the Jam Pony office he heard the familiar screeching of Normal and was reminded that there was another reason that he had left Seattle. He spotted Original Cindy and decided that she needed to know.   
  
"Hey Cindy!"  
  
"What the hell are you doing here? Whenever you show up there's trouble!"  
  
"There is now too. Come on, I need your help. Could you meet me at Logan's after you get off work?"  
  
"And why should I trust you? So far, all you've caused people around here is grief."  
  
"Well, if you help me I may be able to cause happiness. Max is in trouble and I need your help. Are you going to or not?"  
  
"Fine, but it better not be as crazy as those psychopathic killers that I had to deal with last time. I'll see you in a couple hours."  
  
When Zack left, she began to wonder what was so important that her boo was in trouble and they needed HER help.  
  
--  
  
After work Original made her way over to Logan's place. When she arrived, she found Bling sitting on the couch looking very distressed.   
  
"Hey!"  
  
Bling looked up. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in, I must have left the door unlocked."  
  
"Don't worry about it. What's wrong? It can't be that bad."  
  
"Zack won't tell me anything. You can't even begin to imagine the extent of my thoughts right now. I am fearing the worst. I expect at the very least Max is back at Manticore."  
  
As he finished his sentence, Zack walked in.  
  
"Here's the plan, I imagine that Lydecker has taken them to Manticore by now. We are going to have to go over there and get them. I would have contacted one of the others but I don't want to put them at risk."  
  
They went over the plans and went on their way. 


	3. Questions

Disclaimer: They're not mine, I swear!   
  
Freedom?  
  
Part 3  
  
"Max, is that you," Logan called out. He felt someone's presence and was hoping it would be her, but he had his doubts.   
  
"So, you are calling for her too," the man replied. "Sorry to disappoint, but 'your lady' is not with you. Nor will she be again if I have anything to do with this. Which would be a bit hard for me not to since I do happen to run the brigade."  
  
"What do you want with me? Or her for that matter," Logan inquired.  
  
"I know who you are. She is mine, if she had paid attention during her training she would have realized that being with me is the safest for her to be."   
  
Logan didn't respond. It was not in his best interest at the moment to be arguing with the man that he had grown to hate.   
  
"I need some information from you."  
  
'Great, torture for treasure,' he thought, trying not to flinch at the image that camte to his mind.  
  
"How well do you know Max?"  
  
"Why should you care? That probably doesn't have anything to do with the other questions you are asking me."  
  
"Don't start that with me. I'm not going to ask you again so either you give me a straight up answer or I will make you tell me. Do you have anything you would like to share with me?"  
  
'Besides the fact that you are a-I won't go there right now.' "I do in fact. I don't really feel like being tortured at the moment, so I will give you a quick update on her." He said smiling, "She has the best body in the world, which is probably why I did the whole 'one-night' thing. Only it turned out to be a bit more that one-night. I've only known her for about a week. She hasn't told me anything about her past at all. Not that I would care anyway. She has me too preoccupied in other matters, if you know what I mean," he said, more than satisfied with his response. Any idiot could see that Max's silhouette could draw in quite a crowd. And Lydecker was certainely an idiot. He just hoped that his front would hold.   
  
~~  
  
"Maxie," Lydecker began.  
  
She cringed at the nickname. She only tolerated if someone she knew well called her that, but even then it was rare.  
  
"You shouldn't have done that. I thought you knew what was good for you. Leaving yourself that vulnerable isn't something I trained my children to do."  
  
"Your children?" She spat angrily, "we were more like your science experiments. In fact, we were your experiments. Sorry if I haven't been the 'good little soldier' you intended me to be, but I've had more important things on my mind."  
  
"I don't appreciate being talked back to. You of all people should know that." He began to pace around the room.  
  
"Vulnerable to what?" she asked.  
  
"To love, to lust. To any sentimental emotion that will cause you to doubt your mission."  
  
"How would you know if I was subject to that? Have you heard every phone conversation, met every person, stalked me that ferociously?" She wasn't about to give that much information away, not if she could help it. Such a man did not deserve anything she had to give.   
  
"Would I have found anything useful if I had? I know about him," he told her, reaching his hand up to his chin to feel how clean a job he had done earlier while shaving.  
  
For a brief moment fear passed through her eyes, replaced by a questioning look. "Who?" She didn't want him to know about Logan. Even though she had heard him talking earlier, she could only assume that was during each brief period of consciousness.   
  
Disgust washed over his face, but he quickly regained his composure. "Don't worry, Max, we didn't harm him."  
  
"WHO? I don't know who you would be talking about. I don't recall getting involved with any guy." She was getting increasingly angry by the moment.  
  
"The man that followed you of course." His tone remained even.  
  
"Who? I don't think that anyone would have followed me."  
  
"Stop playing innocent, Max. I know you know him. You wouldn't stop saying his name while you were sleeping. You were begging for him to come rescue you. So he tried. Are you wearing some sort of wire or something that he would've heard you from? No, I had my men check. What did you do? Nobody has that type of connection with anyone. Not even those they love. Not that you would be stupid enough to find out." His patience was wearing thin as his voice trailed off.  
  
"Are you remembering old times, 'Deck? Your wife perhaps? At some point you had to have a connection like that with her. Considering all the mistakes you made afterwards, I would have to conclude that you fell into the 'sentimental lie' yourself. But wasn't it fun while it lasted?" she taunted.  
  
"Why would you want to compromise your mission? Didn't I teach you better? What would you know about my wife? You don't know anything." He was having an increasingly difficult time maintaining his temper. With his history, it wouldn't be long before he exploded with rage.  
  
"You taught us of a life without love. You didn't say that there was a place far away where people would protect us from horrible people like you. If you had, we wouldn't have believed you, so why didn't you tell us the truth to make us stay? Why did you say that they are the enemy if they are more gentle that you will ever be?"  
  
"Is he really your boyfriend?"  
  
"Who? I don't know who I would be calling for anyway."  
  
"I told you not to pull that kind of crap on me! You know who I'm talking about. Or are there too many of them for you to remember by now?"  
  
'Why Logan? Why did you follow me? Didn't you know how stupid you were being?'  
"I don't sleep with every guy I meet, okay? If I did it would only be because of the messed up DNA you gave us."  
  
Lydecker ignored that last comment and continued his questioning. "Who is he? What is his profession, this 'Logan' character?"  
  
"Like I would know. I met him at a bar. I haven't known him that long. I only suggested that I might be heading this way so he might've followed me when I didn't return any of his calls." 'I hope you are going aloing this story as well, Logan. Otherwise I'm dead, literally.'  
  
"That's enough for now," he said and motioned for the guards to sedate her again. He didn't need any uncalled for distractions.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: It took me a bit longer than expected. I'm going to just hand this to you in snippets so that I will be able to satisfy your requests. Instead of writing an extra long bit that would take me forever. I hope to come out with them weekly, it may be sooner depending on how much time I get to work on it. Please review!!! 


	4. Getting Ready

Disclaimer: Not mine!!   
A/U: This takes place most definitely before MEOW. I know that this is a bit short, but I haven't really been able to concentrate on it. If you have any suggestions or comments for me then you can send it to plaidtiger@hotmail.com I would love to read anything that you send me.   
  
Freedom?   
Part 4  
  
Zack paced worriedly about Logan's Uncle's cabin in hopes that he would be able to relay exactly what he was thinking   
to Original Cindy and Bling. He had previously thought that they would be able to pull this off by themselves, but he didn't   
want to be putting Max in any more danger than was deemed necessary.   
  
"Okay, here's the plan," he began, "We are going to head down to Arizona but we aren't going to go into the state using   
the same route. I think they are scanning that road for possible friends of the two they've captured. If they were captured,   
which is the most likely thing that could've happened to them. We are going to have to use your car, Bling. All I've got is   
my motorcycle, and that's not going to get all three of us someplace without attracting attention to ourselves."  
  
"How are we going to get them out once we get down there? It's not like we know exactly where they are hiding them,"   
Original Cindy asked, trying to hold back the fear of losing her best friend.  
  
Zack pondered that a moment before he answered. He didn't want her to lose hope because then he would have one   
more problem to deal with. And he needed all the help that he could muster up.   
  
"We are going to search starting at the roads that enter the state around where the two of them came in. If I see either of   
their vehicles, then I will know if we are at the right place or not. If I don't, we'll have to try another approach. Do you   
know which road he took?"  
  
"He took this one," Bling showed him on the map that was neatly laid out in front of them. "How do you know that they   
aren't looking for you or us as well? What if they find us and we are caught trying to get them back? What are you going   
to do if that happens?"  
  
"It won't!!" he exclaimed a bit louder than he intended.  
  
"Dude," Original Cindy directed at Zack, "we know you want to find her, so do we. We will help you, we are just as on   
edge about this as you are."  
  
"I told her if she stayed around here she'd get caught and she didn't listen to me. I should have just dragged her over to   
Canada with me when I had the chance. Now I have to go save her." He started to pace again, looking very disgruntled.  
  
"Not that you would mind, right?" Original Cindy asked, "You like saving her, don't ya?" She grinned even though the   
mood didn't allow it.   
  
"She wouldn't come to me though. She might be thankful, but she'd still run back to miracle boy. I told her she was one   
day going to get herself killed."  
  
"Before you get any more wound up than you already are, would you mind enlightening us as to what the rest of your plan   
is?" Bling asked, trying to get Zack's mind off his pride.  
  
Zack snapped out of his wallowing and finished explaining his plan.   
  
~~  
  
"So let me get this straight. You want me to stay here and you're gonna speed around on your little bike until you find their   
vehicles and then you're gonna radio in to the van here and I'm gonna be relaying signals or whatever to y'all?" Cindy   
asked, summing up the plans that Zack had made for her.  
  
"Basically, yeah," he replied.  



End file.
